Retiring? Then it's time to get renovating

The days of retiring to the coast and putting your feet up are over. Now the
Fastlaners (that’s Fifties and Sixties Trying to Launch a New Era) are more
likely to be tackling a major property project.

This former chapel at Selattyn in Shropshire has been converted by Roy Jones and his wife Lynn. The property’s 1.3 acres of land offer scope for further imaginative development. Samuel Wood and Co, 01691 659951; samuelwood.co.uk Photo: Jay Williams

Retirement used to mean slowing down. Not any more. Fitter and longer-lived than ever before, today’s older generation is quitting work in order to floor the accelerator in other areas of their lives. For many, that means taking on an ambitious property project, either at home or overseas.

A renovation job can be the perfect tonic for a new era: profitable for the soul, and sometimes for the bank balance, too.

“There is now a significant group of active property owners in their late fifties and early sixties,” says Jason Orme from Homebuilding and Renovating magazine. “Their children have left the family home, and their investments are earning a poor rate of interest. They want a new challenge. All of a sudden they find themselves free of shackles, with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the house they have always wanted.”

The law of averages indicates that they will have plenty of time to enjoy their new place, too. According to the Office of National Statistics, men born in 1951 will live until a record 75 years old, and women until the age of 82. Nevertheless, it’s important for these so-called “fastlane” folk (which translates as “Fifties and Sixties Trying to Launch a New Era”) not to leave this leap too late.

“If you’re going to try to build the perfect house, you need plenty of energy,” warns property expert Russell Hill. As a director of the homefinders Haringtons UK, he is often asked to help fastlaners find the right place to renovate.

“Depending on how ambitious your proposals are, it can take 12 to 18 months to get your designs through the planning process,” he says. “Then another 12 to 18 months to get the work done. You can’t do it from afar, as a leisure activity, either. You need to be on the spot.”

This applies even if the house isn’t yet habitable. “I have known people who have bought caravans and slept in the grounds,” says Robert Hayman of West Country House Search. “Just so that they can keep on top of things, and not let the builders take advantage.”

The best advice from those in the business is to treat your new project not as an airy adventure, but as a tightly controlled exercise. That was certainly the attitude adopted by Ian Berg when he set about renovating Lendal Tower, a circular-shaped, 13th-century fortress beside the River Ouse in York. Despite having served as everything from a military bunker to a company boardroom, the building had never been lived in. The surveyor’s report recorded damage from 1584, when York was attacked by the rebel Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland. A few centuries later it was in the line of fire again when the city’s railway station was bombed. “I found the bill for when the tower’s arrow slits were replaced with casement windows,” says Ian. “The cost was 38 pounds and 12 shillings.”

But his project went further than just digging out old paperwork. He used builders and craftsmen with experience of working on York’s other historic buildings (including the Minster’s stained-glass windows). With their help, he installed central and underfloor heating plus restored and re-pointed the 4ft-thick walls with the specified mixture of lime mortar and river sand. The job called on his diplomatic as well as his organisational skills.

“At times, I would liaise between the bodies overseeing the work,” he explains. “I was a go-between when it came to negotiations between the city planning authorities, English Heritage and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. “There’s no question that the project was a huge challenge, and a lot of work, but I’m proud of the result. It really was a labour of love.”

What’s more, it’s not finished. Ian is not only selling the tower (three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 360-degree tower-top views). He is also selling the two Grade II listed Georgian houses next door, both of which are ready for a refurb (total asking price £1.35 million, 01904 558200,Carter Jonas). “There’s always something that needs to be done,” adds Ian.

This sentiment is echoed by Roy Jones.

He bought and converted the Shropshire chapel where he was christened, at Selattyn, near Oswestry. “Three of my family were christened under this roof, and I came here for the very last service ever held,” he says. “When I was a boy, the chapel was full of farmers and their families. On that final day, there were just six old ladies in the congregation. When I heard the building was up for sale, I couldn’t resist it.”

He and his wife Lynn have improved and expanded the building, putting in an attractive wooden bridge to a viewing terrace at the back. “There’s lots more you could still do here,” says Roy, who is upping sticks to Malta after the couple fell in love with the area during a holiday last year. He has put the chapel on the market with Samuel Wood and Co (offers in the region of £425,000, 01691 659951; samuelwood.co.uk). “There are 1.3 acres of land,” he adds, “as well as a bit of field that I think would be just right for a little chalet.”

Certainly, that could come in handy for the grandchildren later on. And it is never too early to think about them, says Susan Farrar, who bought through French property website Sifex. She found herself expanding her four-bedroom, two-bathroom Pyrenean mini-chateau into a seven-bed, four-bathroom home to accommodate her thirtysomething sons and their families. “You’re not just buying for the present,” she says. “You have to think ahead.”

This is true for retirees as well as their extended family. When buying what might well be your final home, it’s important to think of your future needs. You don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere. Ideally there will be a shop within an easy walk of the house, and preferably a doctor’s surgery and Post Office, too.

Looking further down the line, fastlaners need to contemplate how they could stay in their home should the stairs one day become unmanageable. No problem at Lendal Tower, which comes with a lift. But you might like to consider whether there is scope for installing a stairlift, perhaps. As well as making it comfortable, it’s also important to ensure that your new home isn’t going to eat up more than its fair share of your hard-earned pension. Good insulation is a priority to protect against future heating bills.

For some, a bit of rewiring and plumbing is as far as they will go. Others, however, will stop at nothing to turn a crumbling fortress into a bespoke home. They are living, thriving proof that in 2013 retirement doesn’t just mean the end of your working life. It can also be the start of a glorious new chapter. Perhaps, at last, in the home of your dreams.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DREAM HOME A REALITY

Send in a pre-app

Before formally applying for planning permission, you can contact your local authority and run your idea by them. Cost: £50-£60.

Have a trial run

Try testing the water at the Listed Property Owners Clubshow (February 16-17) at Olympia. Building conservation officers from three parts of the UK will tell you if they’d allow your scheme in their area.

Keep it real

Put in plans that are roughly in keeping with other projects in your locality. “In one road in Beaconsfield, in Buckinghamshire, 50 per cent of houses have been knocked down and enlarged,” says Mark Parkinson of Middleton Advisors. “Chances are good you’ll get permission to do the same.”

Sit down and have a cup of coffee

With planners, conservation officers and anyone who has a say in allowing/vetoing your renovation proposals. Find out their aims, and work out a mutually acceptable compromise.

Don’t wait until completion

Apply for planning permission as soon as you have exchanged contracts.

Guarantee access

Make sure your house-purchase contract allows you and your architect to visit your new home and draw up plans in the period between exchange and completion.

Call the builders

On the day the house becomes yours; it’s never too early to get renovation work under way. And the sooner it is finished, the longer you’ll have to enjoy your new home.